Just outside Nadudvar is a small hunting lodge, Jagdhaus Trofea, where we stayed for two nights during our biking trip. It seemed that we were the only guests at this wonderful place hidden behind willow trees next to a marshy pond. Antlers and stuffed peasants decorate door entrances and dining spaces.

Before dinner, we are served Unicum (a deliciously bitter herbal liqueur) one night and homemade palinka the next. It is possible to buy Unicum exported to other countries, so I recommend giving it a try if you see it at the liquor store. Our dinner is served in a beautiful dark wood dining area with gorgeous dinnerware, and there are no menus. Instead, we eat and drink exactly what we are served, quickly discovering that we could not have chosen better for ourselves. The salads, wines and entrees all seemed to live in perfect harmony. The first evening our main course is a hearty goulash soup. The second night we eat breaded cutlets topped with fried egg, fries and slice of pineapple.

Repeatedly, we raved about our good fortune getting to stay at this lodge, which we would never have discovered traveling on our own. It's precisely this sort of experience that makes semi-organized travel worthwhile. I usually avoid the super-rigid tour operators, but I'd recommend this Velo Touring spa & bike option. For a section of Hungary that receives very little coverage in the travel guides, it would have been very difficult (if not impossible) to do independently without prior knowledge of the region.